Abstract
Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce. It was first published in 1914. The collection was regarded as a naturalistic depiction of the Irish middle class life in Ireland in the early years of the 20th century. In the novel, Joyce focus on people's minds, he considered that Dublin is the epitome of spiritual paralysis and its residents become its sacrifices.
The stories concentrate on Joyce's idea of an epiphany--a moment where a character has a special moment of self-understanding or illumination. In the Dubliners, almost every protagonist got an epiphany at the end of the novel. At the moment they saw distress of the environment and their own, which suddenly make them realized the essence of life. The awakening of these characters is a crucial moment, climax of each novel, also contains a profound symbolic meaning. Here we could know that good intentions of Joyce are hidden in the novel. Namely, he hopes that the Irish community and the people can, like the protagonists in Dubliners, understanding the crisis of its own through reading and observing.
In this thesis, I selected a few representative stories and try analyzing them in-depth, along the time line of childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age, to explore the notochord which link up all those epiphany. Thus we can understand the true meaning of life which expressed by the author better.
The thesis is divided to five chapters. Chapter One discusses the social background of Dublin in 20th century and Joyce's epiphany theory. Chapter Two analyzes the epiphany in the age group of childhood. These children are ignorant and imprisoned in their own city Dublin. Chapter Three examines the epiphany in the age group of adolescence. The characters are aimless in their attitude toward life and are doomed to defeat. Chapter Four illustrates the epiphany in the age group of adulthood. These characters are powerless when facing troubles in life and isolated from society and from each other spiritually. Chapter Five discusses the epiphany in the age group of old age. The protagonists feel very lonely and could do nothing to change their lives but live resignedly.
In this thesis, I believe that Joyce view his hometown Dublin as a man. From the naive childhood to the end of life, it permeates the same theme: the spiritual paralysis of Dublin society. From another sense, the entire Dubliners are to convey the entire life of Ireland as well as the epiphany. The study of epiphany helps us to realize the essence of life, and thus to bring good to the modern society.
Key Words: Epiphany, Dubliners, Spiritual Paralysis, Joyce
摘 要
短篇小说集《都柏林人》是乔伊斯以故乡爱尔兰首都为背景，对上世纪初都柏林市井百姓的生活百态所做的生动地描绘。这部由15个故事组成的短篇小说集展示了都柏林各种人物同僵死和瘫痪的社会之间的激烈冲突以及他们面对生活最终遭受挫败之后痛苦的精神感受。小说集中，乔伊斯耕植于人物的精神世界，他认为都柏林是精神瘫痪的缩影，而其居民则成为了牺牲品。
他采用了贯穿十五篇的一种新颖而独特的“灵光顿悟”(epiphany)，即宗教上的“主显灵”来展示人物错综复杂的精神状态和思想感情。在《都柏林人》中, 几乎每一篇小说的结尾，主人公都如同佛教中所言的“顿悟”般，一下子看清了自己和所处的环境的窘迫，并从中悟出了生活的实质。这类人物觉醒的关键时刻既是每篇小说的高潮点，同时又内含着深刻的象征意义。包藏着作者本人的良苦用心。即希望爱尔兰社会与人群也能像小说主人公一样，通过阅读与观察认识自身的危机。
本文围绕题目，试选取几篇具有代表性的故事中主人公从精神瘫痪中得到的顿悟进行深入分析。沿着童年、青少年，成年和老年的时间线，探索一系列顿悟从蕴含到闪现的过程，从而试图找到串起所有顿悟的脊索，解析出作者借助顿悟所要表达的生活真谛（即本质）。
全文共分五章:第一章就乔伊斯所处时期都柏林的社会背景以及乔伊斯的顿悟手法理论展开讨论。第二章分析了处于童年时期的主人公的顿悟，他们无知可怜且被精神禁锢在都柏林城中。第三章分析了处于青年时期的主人公的顿悟，他们醒悟过来发现自己生活漫无目的。第四章分析了处于成年时期的主人公的顿悟，他们对生活被动接受，无能为力。第五章讨论了处于老年时期的主人公的顿悟，他们发现自己困于年迈孤独之中，听任生活的放逐。
本文作者认为，乔伊斯把故乡都柏林看作一个人，从幼稚的童年到生命的结束，贯穿始终的是同一主题：爱尔兰社会的精神瘫痪。而从另一种意义上来说，整部短篇小说集要表达的又是都柏林乃至爱尔兰全部生活的“顿悟”。对这种精神瘫痪的剖析可以使我们现代人拥有更真实的自我意识，也对现代社会有所裨益。
关键词：顿悟, 都柏林人, 精神瘫痪, 乔伊斯
Contents
Acknowledgements II
Abstract III
摘要 IV
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Backgrounds 3
1.1 Joyce and Dublin 3
1.2 What Is an Epiphany 5
Chapter 2 Childhood: Disillusionment and Imprisonment 7
2.1 Epiphany in Childhood 7
2.1.1 The Sisters------ Loss of religious faith 7
2.1.2 Araby------ Neglected Love 9
Chapter 3 Adolescence: Aimlessness and Defeat 11
3.1 Epiphany in Adolescence 11
3.1.1 Eveli
